There is no UK-wide standard when it comes to firefighters’ working hours, meaning that each fire and rescue service can set shift patterns depending on local arrangements.
This year, chief fire officers in both Gloucestershire and Mid and West Wales have targeted firefighters’ working hours.
In each case, threats to change shift patterns have been issued without consulting or listening to the views of firefighters: ignoring ample evidence that the new hours will have a negative impact on the workforce and the service.
In a policy statement passed at FBU conference in 2023, the executive council described many recent changes to shifts as “motivated by spite, arrogance [and] disrespect”, often used as a means of bullying the workforce.
In 2018, the FBU won a legal battle against South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service requiring firefighters to work “Victorian” 96-hour shifts.
So while attacks on the terms and conditions of firefighters are not new, these ongoing battles show a renewed interest in the imposition of punishing shift patterns. FBU members are making it clear that any chief pursuing this agenda will have a fight on their hands.
